2 posts tagged “marriage”

How can Christ be the sole mediator of our salvation through His own atoning sacrifice, and yet tell us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling? (Philippians 2:12)

In my journey to Orthodoxy, the hardest thing to do is to learn to incorporate two ideas into one act. I submit that this is the basis for understanding Orthodoxy. This is how we understand salvic attributions of Mary, the Intercession of the Saints, the Sacraments, prayer, works, the very Church herself. When coming from a protestant mindset, giving any attribution to the Church's role in salvation seems idolatry. That these attributions take away from the glory and work of Christ alone. It is indeed a very hard mindset to get over.

But I ask you, does the sun reject the attention paid to the moon? No, the moon reflects the sun's brilliance. Is the groom jealous of the attention paid to his bride? No, the bride wears white and is the one who draws many gazes, which gives the groom great pleasure. The female is the glorious one in a dance partnership. The man shows her off to her best advantage. The best partnership is where they are both intensely attentive to each other. There is no jealousy in pure partnership. There is mutual submission and an invitation to join in their glory, and to partake of the fruit of their union.

The difference is that we see the Church as being in union with Christ. She has been made one with Him. She does not lose her identity, but they act as one. The Sacraments and prayers offered by the Church are the means by which one enters into and is sustained by this union with God, and His Bride. Or else there is no benefit to praying without ceasing, the monastic life.

To highlight that these two things are indeed possible, Philippians 2:13 follows, "for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to do for His good pleasure." God works through Mary, the Saints, the Sacraments, prayers, our works, and the Church of Christ herself.